Build Thread 1978 Mercury Cyclone. The pig is in the pen.

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#7,181
hoopty5.0 said:
How are your knees handling the standing?
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They still swell, and they'll ache pretty bad when I push it. (like standing there porting a head for 4 straight hours)
But I just came from the Dr.for my 4 month post check up....He says that I'm doing better (flexibility/strength/range of motion) than 75% of the patients that are my age that go through a single replacement much less the bi-lateral procedure I chose.

The full recovery is up to a full year....I'm at the 4.5 month mark.
 
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#7,183
upload_2018-1-12_9-10-49.webp


I saw this and started chuckling mischievously. But I wouldn't dare.
 
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#7,186
Davedacarpainter said:
But you’ll have to be nice to people Mike:eek:
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OUCH. Hey Mike, it is times like this when you learn who your friends are!

I am actually in the boat pretty much as you. I'm 48. Done pretty much the same thing for 26 years. 13 at one company and 13 at this. I mainly repair plotters, scanners, and large format copiers, although in this current job I spend most of my time in the shop printing blueprints, making signs, mounting posters. I make good money, yet I haven't had a raise in 10 years. Nothing. So, I am making less than I was 10 years ago. Luckily I am married to a fine woman who makes more than I do and we split the bills. I pay the house note $1500 and car insurance $110/mo and she pays everything else. We put in HE HVAC 2 years ago. $15k on 5 yr note and she will pay that off next month. She pays the note on my Avalanche and she really needs a new car herself. 2004 Suburban with 200k. So I am looking to get out and make more money, if nothing else to take over my car payment so she can get one.

I'm looking at something now and if it pays more, I will probably jump. It will require some travel, but as long as it isn't more than a week per month on avg I will be OK with a bigger check.

I think in the end it comes down to how you want to live your life. More hours for more money or less hours (or maybe not) for less money. I'm still at the point where I need more money to dump into 401k or IRA because I don't want to work when I am 70.
 
#7,191
We'll know somethings up when you quit posting,
911: whats your emergency
Karthief: davedacarpainter hasn't posted in a couple days
911: who is davedacarpainter and where is he at
Karthief: he's davedacarpainter and he's probably in a paint booth
911: where at
Karthief: ahhhh, nevermind, wrong number
 
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#7,195
@CarMichael Angelo

I am 72 years old and have 38+ years of fixing computers from chip level electronic troubleshooting to large networks that span multiple locations. I have spent much of those 38 years dealing with people who are in panic mode because something quit working at a crucial time. If I lose my cool or get frustrated, it isn't evident by a change in composure or manner when I am dealing with people. I have learned to listen and mentally separate the wheat from the chaff. I don’t mind teaching others how to diagnose and fix problems. I could have easily traded on that knowledge and background and made a transition to a management position. It would have paid more than the $64K+ that I make now. I have all the qualifications for a management slot and I could have succeeded at it. BUT… I like what I do: there are always new things to learn and work on. I have met some very nice people during my travels and trials and I enjoy the opportunity to listen and talk with them. I don’t dread getting up in the morning and going to work.

As a manager I would have to sit through endless hours of meetings and the frustration of dealing with petty, squabbling of bureaucracy. I am a decisive type of person with a 5 step approach. Catch the vision, communicate the plan, create the team, commission and provision the participants and consider the results. Bureaucracy doesn’t work like that; you are stuck with what you are given to work with; good and bad alike. Very soon my level of frustration would exceed my level of patience and I would say or do something that isn’t Politically Correct. I can deal well with people who are ignorant but not with people who are just plain stupid and refuse to learn.

Mike, the point in my ramblings is that You have to decide what you like to do and the style or manner you would do it. Whatever you undertake to accomplish in life needs to line up with the person that you are if you are going to be a success and not dread the next workday.
Joe R…
 
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#7,196
jrichker said:
@CarMichael Angelo

I am 72 years old and have 38+ years of fixing computers from chip level electronic troubleshooting to large networks that span multiple locations. I have spent much of those 38 years dealing with people who are in panic mode because something quit working at a crucial time. If I lose my cool or get frustrated, it isn't evident by a change in composure or manner when I am dealing with people. I have learned to listen and mentally separate the wheat from the chaff. I don’t mind teaching others how to diagnose and fix problems. I could have easily traded on that knowledge and background and made a transition to a management position. It would have paid more than the $64K+ that I make now. I have all the qualifications for a management slot and I could have succeeded at it. BUT… I like what I do: there are always new things to learn and work on. I have met some very nice people during my travels and trials and I enjoy the opportunity to listen and talk with them. I don’t dread getting up in the morning and going to work.

As a manager I would have to sit through endless hours of meetings and the frustration of dealing with petty, squabbling of bureaucracy. I am a decisive type of person with a 5 step approach. Catch the vision, communicate the plan, create the team, commission and provision the participants and consider the results. Bureaucracy doesn’t work like that; you are stuck with what you are given to work with; good and bad alike. Very soon my level of frustration would exceed my level of patience and I would say or do something that isn’t Politically Correct. I can deal well with people who are ignorant but not with people who are just plain stupid and refuse to learn.

Mike, the point in my ramblings is that You have to decide what you like to do and the style or manner you would do it. Whatever you undertake to accomplish in life needs to line up with the person that you are if you are going to be a success and not dread the next workday.
Joe R…
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Thanks for that Joe,..that is well said, (as it is with everything you write here) and the point is solid.

I like what I do to be sure. As it wasn't evident enough from all of the BMW references is slide in everywhere, I certainly like my brand as well.
The fact of the matter is that there isn't enough separation between being a Genius and a salesperson to not convert.into sales...The fact that I know so much more about the specifics of each car puts me well ahead of 70% of the rest of the salesmen currently on the floor. .My happiness will all boil down to what you've already said above,.....

It'll be about how I manage the job, and the people that I have to interact with, that will be the break, or make point.

A sales job is scheduled at 44 hours weekly....You work two long days (9-7:30) = 19 hours; You get a day off in the week.,You work two short days (9-5:30)=15 hours..and a Saturday = 10 hours....Total is 44 hours. Sometimes, I'll have to remain later.
As a Genius, we are scheduled at 40. Sometimes I have to stay later.

So,..the real difference between what I do now, and what I will be doing boils down to 4 hours weekly.....16 more a month, 200 more a year, in exchange for anywhere between 12,000 - 24,000 more dollars annually on average.

How could I not do that?
 
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#7,197
On a Thread specific note.....

They're coming. I bought the individual TB's off of Ebay yesterday. 6 linked together individual throttle bodies that cost me 340.00 to get to my door. Problem is,.....it's going to my old door.
I neglected to update shipping information before making the purchase on Ebay.:nonono:

But.......... I still have the Turbo, and every other single thing that made the old monster, the monster. This could be a turbocharged, ITB'd version of the Monster............
........:thinking:...............
Naaaaahhh....I gotta stay on track.

I'm still slowed down by the process of opening the intake ports. I only have two of them close to done...It sounds tiny when you consider it, but I actually have to open the port up enough to be able to get a ping pong ball to fit inside...and that requires that I remove almost .200" out of the port.

I'm not sure how much better the new 20 gallon compressor is over that tiny little 6 gallon version that I had before. Within 10 seconds of usage once it's full, the compressor kicks back on,...and that noisy bastard will run non-stop from then on as long as i'm grinding...and it takes forever to go from the 125 psi it seems to stay at while grinding, to the 150 that it takes to get it to shut the hell up.

I'm gonna fully remake the exhaust header to a more N/A friendly version....Medusa is gonna contribute her 1/2" flange as a starting point to that. I just gotta get the damn head ported before I can start on that. Once that is done, I can get the head to a machine shop for a new 3 angle valve job, and get it put back together.

If I use Medusa as template, and bolt her to the work bench, I can stick the turbo back on and mock up where the old down pipe would attach. Then I can weld a couple of brackets in place to hold a V band ring where the turbo's V band collar would've attached to the down pipe,...and build the new header to that.
I'll cut the three front tubes of the old heavy medusa away, and weld up the new exhaust header as a replacement as I go.. Once the front half is built, I can cut the other tubes away and finish the thing.....


Slow assed Monster.....here I come.
 
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#7,198
Hey mike....I've got an idea...it'll take an old propane tank and some ingenuity ( that we know you have ). The issue is capacity...you can increase the capacity with another tank added to the one you have.....via some fittings and the drain port. It'll give you more air storage....and more time before the compressor cuts back on.

It'll take longer to fill but might work o_O

I always wanted to get an 80 gallon tank and put a cheaper smaller compressor on it....just to see what it would do. The cfm is still based on compressor flow. The idea is more storage equates to more time...and you could put a valve on it so you could have a variable displacement air storage system. Turn the valve....disconnect the tank....and go put air in the minis tires.
 
#7,199
So this actually gets back to car related stuff. So I've got an OLD compressor. Sits on wheels and the tank is probably 18-22 in diameter and 30-36 wide. So, I am thinking it's 5-8 gallons. I've been wanting a bigger one. If 20 gallons is really insufficient for just some die grinding, what's a decent size that you can probably get a HF that will do some grinding, maybe some painting? What does everyone else have?
 
#7,200
droopie85gt said:
So this actually gets back to car related stuff. So I've got an OLD compressor. Sits on wheels and the tank is probably 18-22 in diameter and 30-36 wide. So, I am thinking it's 5-8 gallons. I've been wanting a bigger one. If 20 gallons is really insufficient for just some die grinding, what's a decent size that you can probably get a HF that will do some grinding, maybe some painting? What does everyone else have?
Click to expand...
At those dimensions you are already at 20 gals at least.

I was thinking about daisy chaining another reservoir to hold more air...just haven't got into thinking about it anymore.
 
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